Parent angry after being kicked off private school playground (VIDEO)

DH Vancouver StaffFeb 24, 2015 10:50 am

A North Vancouver mother and her children were recently asked to leave a school playground because the Principal says the land is private property.

Anne Fischer and her children were visiting the playground at Cousteau French International School of Vancouver on Monday after school when a security guard approached the family and asked them to leave. Fischer refused and the school Principal, Gérard Martinez, was called.

When a heated interaction began, another parent on the playground started recording a video on her phone. She later posted the clip to Youtube.

“There are security issues. I have children from my school -”

“- Security issues? For children playing on the playground that I raised money for?”

According to CBC, Fischer helped raise money for the playground when it was built as part of the former Fromme Elementary School, later leased to the private French International School of Vancouver.

The private school has signs stating the playground is closed to the public between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Fischer and her family were there at 4:30 p.m.

“To take away a community space and turn it into a private school where the local kids are not allowed to use the playground is just completely unacceptable,” she told CBC in an interview.

But the school principal states it is a safety and security concern. “I have children from this school. We are responsible for the children of the school. We are not responsible for your children,” he is heard saying in the video.

According to Martinez, the police say he has the right to ask people to leave the grounds.

“If this is your way of teaching children, I really disagree with your approach,” Fischer shouts at the end of the video.